Remembering (and Responding to) Rachel Held Evans

In 2 Timothy 4:1-4, the apostle Paul told his protégé, "I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching."

It's been almost two months since the passing of Rachel Held Evans, bestselling author and liberal theology blogger. In memoriam, she has been lauded as a feminist and an advocate for LGBTQ causes. She was very confrontational with the church, insisting it get on "the right side of history" with these issues.

Some of you are aware that I was the last person she went on a Twitter-rant about before she died (specifically regarding a WWUTT video I did). I'd jotted down some notes and planned to make a video response to her claims, hoping that maybe it would open up a dialogue with her. But then she went into the hospital on April 14, three days after her comments toward me. She was down with the flu and an infection. Of course, that wasn't the best time to initiate any kind of debate.

A few days later, word came that she had been put into a medically-induced coma, from which she never woke up. She died on Saturday morning, May 4. She was 37 years old, just a few months younger than I am, and left behind a husband and two children.

Though I will never have another opportunity to address Rachel, what she taught continues to damage the souls of countless thousands of people, and will do so for many more years. What I had prepared to say to her, I say now for the sake of those misled by her teaching.

Hanging Her Life On It

Shortly before her illness I posted a video entitled What if God is a Woman? (watch by clicking the title). The purpose of the video was to respond to common arguments liberal theologians use to justify calling God "mother" or referring to Him using feminine pronouns. One of those theologians referenced in the video was Rachel Held Evans.

I shared the video on WWUTT's Twitter account with this headlining comment: "Rachel Held Evans has said she would go to the gallows over her feminist theology that God is 'mother.' Jory Micah [another false teacher] has referred to God by feminine pronouns. But they fashion a god of their own making. A 90-second video!"

In response to this, Rachel said, "Where did I say I would 'go to the gallows'? This is a terribly researched and poorly presented argument." So Rachel was shown where, in her own words, she had made such a statement. In a blog she wrote on May 16, 2014, she said the following:

"And as a woman, referring to God as She or as Mother serves as an important, liberating reminder that I am indeed created in the image of God, not as some lesser being who exists in perpetual subordination to men, but as an expression of God's very self.

"If that makes me a heretic, you can string up the rope."

Rachel replied, "Um, seems like maybe you are the ones who misunderstand metaphor. I don't actually want to be killed for believing God's not a dude. (And how about not bearing false witness by epically misrepresenting what I actually believe?) This is a poorly produced, badly researched, and pathetically argued hit piece that misrepresents my views and leaves no room for nuance. How desperate do you have to be to protect an exclusively masculine God to make this? You can make an idol out of that, too. Deuteronomy 4:16."

That's a lot to unpack, all of it a blanket condemnation without responding to a single argument that was made about her theology. She blew me off with personal smears, which of course received hundreds of likes by her followers (and are still receiving likes—I get daily notices). Considering her comments, I doubt she watched the video at all. It only would have taken her 90-seconds!

First of all, Rachel said, "Seems like maybe you are the ones who misunderstand metaphor" and I left "no room for nuance." Is there a rule somewhere that you can't borrow from someone's metaphor in order to, say, make a point with some wit? She said "string up the rope" to convey her no-regrets attitude over calling God her "mother." I simply continued the theme emphasizing her head-strong nature by saying she would "go to the gallows." Hypocritically, Rachel did what she accused me of doing—she left no room for nuance, and she misunderstood her own metaphor!

Secondly, she said, "How about not bearing false witness by epically misrepresenting what I actually believe?" Bearing false witness how? What did I say that misrepresented what she believed, let alone doing so "epically"? One of Rachel's followers, Aideen from London, also commented, "Isn't it, like, in the Ten Commandments to not lie?" But lie how? Where was the dishonesty? Once again, the irony is that Rachel bore false witness against me by saying I bore false witness against her when I did not.

Third, she said, "This is a poorly produced, badly researched, and pathetically argued hit piece." Again, this was a deflection away from the arguments being made. When someone, generally of the liberal theological persuasion, cannot confidently or directly defend what they believe with Scripture, they tend to attack the personal character of the one challenging their beliefs. (By the way, this is exactly what Beth Moore has been doing lately.)

I believe my work speaks for itself, and you can determine if you think it's "poorly produced." As for "badly researched," my sources are cited. A commenter named Holli said, "Never heard or read these words from her. Where is your reference? Documentation?" There were references in the video, and the transcript has links. This was also not a "hit piece," since the engine that drives a hit piece is using false information to sway public opinion. In fact, it was Rachel who spread false information to sway public opinion about me.

In another comment regarding my video, Rachel said, "I've written four books, hundreds of blog posts, and dozens of articles, and only once have I used a feminine pronoun for God." Friends, that was a bald-faced lie. In the video, I clearly cited two occasions where she did this in two different blogs more than two years apart—one on April 6 of 2012, and the other on May 16 of 2014.

Furthermore, I found at least a half-dozen online comments where she spoke of God with some kind of feminine verbiage (that was just through a general search that took me a few seconds). She made a reference to a quote from liberal writer Alexis James Waggoner who said, "God is a mother." She is listed as a co-collaborator with the band Gungor and the Liturgists podcast on their album God Our Mother. These were not merely careless, occasional references Rachel made—they were thought-out, deliberate expressions of her theology.

In her own words (in the block-quote above), Rachel was unhappy with how God revealed Himself in Scripture. What the Bible said about her, being made in God's image, was inadequate. It made her feel "in perpetual subordination to men." She had to have God on her terms. She called Him "mother," and she called it "liberating." To know the Father sent His only Son to deliver His people from sin and death was not enough for her.

In another comment about my video, Rachel said, "[I'm] not looking for sympathy. I just think this says a lot about how these guys think of women. Like, how freaked out are they going to be when (if all of this is true) they enter the full presence of God at resurrection and are suddenly hit with the reality that God's not a dude?"

That's an incredibly telling comment. First, if anyone warned her that it was blasphemy to call God "mother," she would paint them as a misogynist. Second, Evans did not wholeheartedly believe Christianity was true. And third, I said in the video, quoting from Scripture, God is Spirit and not man (another reason I don't believe she watched it). Regardless, God has revealed Himself in the masculine, and that is how we are to worship Him—according to His word, not our words.

At the end of my video, I said that a person who does not repent will be judged with the nations that worshiped the Asherah, or the mother-god. In Micah 5:14-15, God said, "I will root out your Asherah images from among you and destroy your cities. And in anger and wrath, I will execute vengeance on the nations that did not obey."

Mere days after she dug in her heels and defended her mother-god theology, lashing out at anyone who would question it, Rachel Held Evans died. She entered the presence of God and has been hit with reality. Galatians 6:7 says, "Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap."

Closing Comments

Following Rachel's passing, Beth Moore said, "Thinking what it was about Rachel Held Evans that could cause many on other sides of issues to take their hats off to her in her death. People are run rife with grief for her babies, yes. But also I think part of it is that, in an era of gross hypocrisy, she was alarmingly honest."

No, she wasn't. Rachel was not "alarmingly honest." Candid, yes. But being blunt is not the same as being honest. Rachel Held Evans was a liar. She vomited deception and hurled vitriol at those with whom she most disagreed. Her teaching was soul-searing acid. The venom of asps was on her lips. Thousands and thousands of people will go to hell believing the things Rachel said.

She taught as good what God has said He will judge with fire. She encouraged men to burn with passion for each other, and women to exchange natural relations for unnatural ones. She believed boys could change into girls if they wanted, but a boy who claimed to be gay could not change. She chastised the bride of Christ, His church, whenever it refused to exchange biblical fidelity for LGBTQ propaganda. She told women to become pastors, and said, "The best preachers I know are women." In an era of gross hypocrisy, she was a rank hypocrite, who claimed to be of Christ, but she hated His word.

Jesus said, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine, but the Father's who sent me" (John 14:23-24). The Spirit says, "Whoever says 'I know Him' but does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in Him" (1 John 2:4).

As I said in a previous blog, I prayed for Rachel that God would have mercy on her soul. I have also been a false teacher, but God has shown mercy to me. Rachel had heard the true gospel, and I hope her heart was turned before its last beat. But whatever may have happened in her final moments, it does not redeem her damnable teaching. Let the reader be warned. Fear God and repent. Repudiate the words of Rachel Held Evans and revere the word of Christ.

Back to 2 Timothy 4:3-5, the apostle went on to tell his protégé, "For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry."

Bear One Another's Burdens (Galatians 6:1-10)

"Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. 5 For each will have to bear his own load. 6 Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. 7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith." Galatians 6:1-10

Last week, we learned about walking by the Spirit, which included the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; "against such things there is no law." Now we love to talk about the fruit of the Spirit. We even have a song about it. If you will recall, the theme of our VBS three years ago was the fruit of the Spirit. Any one of our children in this church could stand up here and give you the fruit of the Spirit, which is wonderful to think about.

But while we may rejoice to memorize the fruit of the Spirit, which is certainly worthwhile, we're not as familiar with the works of the flesh. Why is it important to know what the works of the flesh are? Let me give you three reasons. The first reason is because the Spirit says the works of the flesh are evident. In other words, we must know what they are because the Bible says so. Galatians 5:19-21—"Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these."

When we get to the fruit of the Spirit, and we read that the fruit of the Spirit is "love," we must recognize that "love" is not "sexual immorality," because as verse 17 says, "The desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other." Our world equates sexuality immorality with love. But if we know God's definition of love, we won't be taken in by the world's re-definition of love. What did God say was love?

Jesus said in John 15:13, "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." The definition of love is, very simply, Jesus Christ. And the love of Christ is sacrificial. No love will ever be greater than what Jesus did for us. But in light of what Jesus did, laying down His life for our sins, we likewise should lay down our lives for each other. That doesn't mean we can atone for one another's sins. But we understand the application of Christ-likeness given in a passage like Philippians 2:3, "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." And then Paul says that thinking this way is having the mind of Christ.

Ephesians 5:25 says, "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her." This doesn't mean that a husband must literally die for his wife. But he must consider the needs of his family ahead of his own ambitions. It's not wrong for a husband to have ambitions. But his priority is first to his family. Take this principle for the home and apply it to the church. Consider one another's needs ahead of your own. In doing this, we love one another, and we won't be doing the work of the flesh.

The second reason is so we don't do them. The rest of verse 21 says, "I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." This is the penalty for those who walk by the flesh rather than in the Spirit. Whoever lives according to the flesh will perish under the righteous judgment of God. This should cause us to hunger for the gospel, which is the power of God for salvation to all who believe. Just like the hearing of the Law brings knowledge of our sin, the hearing of the works of the flesh does the same. Then we reach for the gospel, which produces godliness—the fruit of the Spirit. When we walk by the Spirit, we do not gratify the desires of the flesh.

The third reason we should know the works of the flesh as well as the fruit of the Spirit is because we understand the first half of Jesus' command, "Repent and believe." Dave has been teaching through Mark on Sunday morning. At the start, Mark 1:14-15 says, "Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the gospel."

The command of Christ to repent and believe means that we turn from something and we turn to something. We repent or turn from our sin, and we believe or turn to Christ. Apply this understanding to the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. You are turning from a sin nature which manifests the rotten works of the flesh. You are turning to a new nature which produces the beautiful fruit of the Spirit. So knowing the works of the flesh specifies what we are turning from when we are told to repent. The fruit of the Spirit specifies what we will be turned into when we obey the command to believe. Make sense?

So I have spent ten minutes this morning talking about what we talked about last week. Why have I spent so much time talking about this again? Here are three more reasons. Number one, because I like talking about it. Number two, because not all of you were here last week (no conviction or condemnation intended).

Here's the third reason: because the section on the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit is book-ended with this command: Love your neighbor. Galatians 5:14 says, "For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" Then we get to the fruit of the Spirit in verse 16-26. Now we start chapter 6 with the same command in verse 2: "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the Law of Christ," the command to love one another.

Let's consider, once more, the fruit of the Spirit: "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." What do you need in order to produce and share the fruit of the Spirit? People! You need people to show love to, do you not? You need people to rejoice with. You need people to exhibit peacefulness. You need people to be patient with. You need people to be kind to. You need people to be good to. You need people to be faithful to. You need people to be gentle with. And you need people to be self-controlled toward.

And, furthermore my friends, you need people that they may display this same fruit back to you. You need to let people love you, and do not make it hard on them. You need people to take joy in you, to show you peace, to show you kindness, to give you goodness, to be faithful to you, to be gentle with you, and through accountability, you need people to help you develop self-control.

A lot of us have this sense that the Christian walk is just about me and Jesus—just my relationship with God. My friends, it's not just about you and God. You certainly have a relationship with God through faith in Christ. But Christianity is not just about your association with God, or even just you and your family trying to tough it out in this crazy world. The Christian walk requires fellowship with other Christians. Jesus did not call you to closet Christianity. He commanded you to love each other. And you need each other to fulfill the Law of Christ.

As author and theologian Tim Challies has said, "Sanctification is a community project." You grow in holiness and righteousness and the knowledge of God and therefore also the fruit of the Spirit with other believers. You cannot fulfill the Law of Christ by yourself. You cannot grow in your faith on your own.

Second Timothy 2:22 says, "So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart." That passage is Galatians 5:14 through 6:10 simplified. "Flee youthful passions," means repent from works of the flesh; "and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace," which you might recognize are the fruit of the Spirit! "Along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart," means that you do this with the church—the body of believers who call on the Lord from a heart being made righteous in Christ.

Sometimes, loving one another means that we will need to call one another to correction. In the context of loving one another and growing together, we have Galatians 6:1—"Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted." My friends, calling one another to correction is a requirement. It is a command of Christ.

In Matthew 18:15-20, Jesus said, "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them."

That last statement, verse 20, we often tag on our prayer gatherings and Bible studies: "For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them." That's not about a prayer gathering. God is with you when you are praying by yourself, amen? This is in the context of church discipline, and it is the command of Christ that we follow it.

Notice something in this progression of discipline. It starts with a one on one confrontation, and if the person refuses to repent, it gradually becomes more and more public until the whole church is involved. Understand plainly my friends: sin is not, nor has it ever been, a private matter. It takes the body of Christ to help you overcome it. James 5:15-16 says, "Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed."

Consider that in Philippians 4, the Apostle Paul calls out two women in front of the whole church: "I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. Yes, I ask you also, true companion," talking to the rest of the body, "help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel."

We don't know what the conflict between these two women was, but we get the sense that it had been going on for a while and had not yet been resolved. Paul names two disagreeable women before the church—it's written down in history for all of us to read—and then the apostle commissions the church to restore them in a spirit of gentleness, treating them as sisters.

All throughout this process of discipline, we are told to correct "in a spirit of gentleness." In 1 Peter 3:15, we are told to answer unbelievers with gentleness and respect, and in 2 Timothy 2:25 we're told to correct opponents with gentleness. That same gentle spirit most definitely should apply to the way we correct disagreement among brothers and sisters.

Second Thessalonians 3:13-15 says, "As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother."
Notice this directive on discipline begins with, "Do not grow weary in doing good." In other words, do not hesitate to issue correction. Proverbs 12:1 says, "Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid." We often take a verse like that and apply it to the person who hates to receive correction, but it also applies to the person who will not issue correction. But love helps one another, even in fighting against sin.

Galatians 6:2 says, "Bear one another's burdens," and this is right after we read, "restore him in a spirit of gentleness," and "keep watch on yourself." To admonish a brother or sister, or even to pray for them and be heart-broken over their sin, is to bear their burden. Some of us are going to struggle more than others with the temptations of our flesh. "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ," the law to love one another. John 13:34, Jesus said, "A new commandments I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another." And didn't Jesus love us though we had sinned against Him?

Look now at verses 3-5: "For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load." Now this is odd. We just read bear one another's burdens, and now we're being told each will have to bear his own load. Doesn't this seem to be a contradiction? It might seem to be, but it's not.

"Bear one another's burdens" is a different phrase than "bear his own load." In fact, the phrase "bear his own load" in the Greek is like a phrase that appeared earlier in Galatians 5:10, when Paul said of a false teacher, "The one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is." Romans 14:12 says, "Each of us will give an account of himself to God." Do you bear a burden of guilt, or have your sins been lifted by Christ? We have these moments now to bear one another's burdens, for we cannot bear their load for them at the judgment seat.

Consider the statement in verse 4: "Let each one test his own work." Second Corinthians 13:5 says, "Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!" You are responsible to warn your brother or sister when they step off the path of righteousness. But you can't make the decision for them to step back on.

This is a painfully difficult position to be in, to watch a loved one go astray, to have warned them, to have pleaded with them, and still they go their own way. Some of you have seen friends wander from the faith, children, a spouse. All five of my own flesh and blood brothers and sisters have either castigated me for warning them or they've left the faith entirely. I know how this feels. But you can't make them turn back. Pray and ask that the Lord would grant them a spirit of repentance. And once again, "keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted." Do not follow them off the path. "Walk in the way of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous" (Proverbs 2:20).

Verse 4 goes on to say that the one who tests his own work will boast in himself and not his neighbor. I thought we weren't supposed to boast in ourselves. Second Corinthians 10:17 says, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord." And that's precisely the point. If your works have been carried out in God through Christ Jesus our Lord, your boast over your work will be in Christ working through you. Philippians 2:13 says, "For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." You can't make someone else do good works. But you can do your own work, and do it all to the glory of God.

Galatians 6:6 says, "Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches." Let's summarize what we've read so far: Look out for your brothers and sisters, keep watch on yourself, bear one another's burdens, don't think too highly of yourself and deceive yourself, test your own work. Now Paul says, "Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches." My explanation of this passage may sound somewhat self-serving; nevertheless, it is for your edification.

Let's say you witness a brother in the Lord losing his temper or a sister in Christ gossiping. You follow that first instruction of Jesus to go and confront them, just between the two of you. Jesus said if they listen to you, you have gained your brother. Mission accomplished! You don't have to go to that next step of bringing two or three witnesses to confront them. There's no reason this needs public exposure.

So now what? Well, tell your pastor. Go to your pastor and say, "You have taught us that this is how we are supposed to handle the situation. We have followed the instruction of Jesus, and we are rejoicing in repentance." Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches.

Several years ago, I baptized a teenage girl who had repented and had been rescued from some pretty serious sin. Just a few weeks ago, her father texted me a picture of her graduating from college, and said she was still walking with the Lord. It brought tears to my eyes. I told him that, and he said it brought tears to his eyes just to text it to me.

My friends, it may feel like all hell is breaking loose underneath you. And when that happens, my door is open. I will pray with you, and where needed I will remind you of the hope and promises we've been given in the word of God, so that you may find sure footing and be able to stand firm on solid ground. But in the times when it feels like the floodgates of heaven have opened up and poured out on you, would you do me a favor and share those moments with me, too? I will share your tears of sorrow, but I long even more to share your tears of joy.

"Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches." Let me continue to press into this. Again, I say this not for my own benefit. There is another pastor sitting here: Pastor Dwight;you're your lay-elder, brother Dave. About half of you will have a different pastor within the next two years as the military moves you on to another location, so what you are learning here will also serve you there. We also have some visitors today, so you are welcome to find application in this also.

Examine the relationship you have with your pastor. Are you thankful for him? Would you consider the relationship to be a blessing, or do you not really care for what your pastor has to say? If it seems like most of what you say to him is critical, or just about any time he gives you advice or council, you disagree with it, ignore it, or try to go against it, exactly what benefit is that to you?
Hebrews 13:17 says, "Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you."

Remember that the Apostle Paul is writing to a church that has lost their grasp on sound doctrine, and what has resulted is biting and devouring one another. He's trying to bring them back to the glorious truth of the true gospel, and explaining to them what the fruit of that gospel will look like. First and foremost, they will love one another: "Bear one another's burdens," Paul says. Included in that command is the relationship they will have with the elders of the church. Do not be a burden on them. Rather, lighten the load they already have to bear. And do so in this way: "Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches."

Let's look now at Galatians 6:7—"Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap." Remember again verse 1 says, "If anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted." There are two parts to this: restore your brother or sister, and keep watch on yourself. The Apostle Paul has given the explanation of this passage in two parts. Verses 2 through 5 explain the first part, to restore one another. Verses 7 through 9 explain the second part, to keep watch on yourself. (Verse 6 is kind of a bridge between the two parts. It could go with either part one or part two.)

Should you not keep watch on yourself and fall into temptation, do not be deceived and think to yourself, "Oh, well God is a gracious God. He'll just forgive me, right? After all, He's God! And I'm such a likeable person! How could God not love me?" That would be mocking God. You're sinning and daring God to do something about it. Stand in fear, believer. He will do something about it.

"Whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will form the Spirit reap eternal life." In other words, there are consequences for behavior. Maybe God won't destroy you for the sin you've decided to indulge in. But there will still be consequences. Maybe this one little sin won't cause a great amount of damage, but you get nothing good from it. You will only reap corruption—meaning that it may lead you to do it again, and again, and again, until you're given over to your own depravity.

Do not flirt with such danger, my fellow Christians. "The one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life!" Seek the things that are above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God! As we will be teaching the children this coming week at VBS, store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust cannot destroy and thieves cannot break in and steal. The things of the Spirit are free from corruption. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

"And let us not grow weary of doing good," Paul says in verse 9, "for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith."

All of the instructions that we've been concerning ourselves with here have been for the church. "Bear one another's burdens," is an instruction for the church, how brothers and sisters in the Lord show love to one another. It is not going to be the same way we show our concern for the world. Yes, we are also to the warn the world of their sin, but we are also told not to be yoked with unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14).

We are first and foremost to care for one another. When you get paid, where does your money go first? It goes to providing for your own household, right? Then whatever else you have gets invested in other areas. So that is going to be the same with your church. Care first for the body of faith. We will have opportunities to show good to everyone. But the church, your church family, is our primary concern, bearing one another's burdens that we may fulfill the Law of Christ.

I have an apple tree in front of my house that has never produced a good apple, and I get mad at it every year. But at the same time, I've never put any work into that apple tree. I don't care for it, I don't prepare it for spring, I don't spray it for bugs, I don't keep bad limbs trimmed back. And I just expect it to produce good fruit and then complain whenever it doesn't.

Apply that to your growth in the church. Are you mad that you're still fighting sin you've never seem to overcome? What kind of work have you put into it? Are you looking down on other's sins and saying, "Why hasn't Gabe done something about this?" Well, what are you doing to grow your brothers and sisters in the Lord? Good fruit takes hard work. And we've been commanded to bear one another's burdens. Do not grow weary in doing good, for you will reap a harvest if you do not give up.

Walk By the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-26)

16 "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another." Galatians 5:16-26

Over the course of this letter to the churches in first century Galatia, the argument being made by the Apostle Paul is that we are justified by faith in Christ alone, and this is the gospel. Jesus Christ has died for our sins and conquered death by rising again from the grave. Whoever believes in Him is forgiven. Jesus is enough. The work of Christ is sufficient. If someone comes to you preaching Christ plus something else equals salvation, they are preaching a different gospel. For the Galatians, they had been seized by the Judaizers into believing we are justified by faith plus works. The work of Christ was not enough, they thought, and I need to keep these works in order to be saved.

This of course was not the message that Paul first preached to the Galatians when he came to them. He said in chapter 1 verse 6, "I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel, which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ." This new gospel was as good as no gospel at all. In fact, Paul said in verses 8 and 9 that to believe such a false gospel would lead not to life but a curse. The worst curse—the judgment of God.

As we considered last week, Paul said, "I wish that those who unsettle you would go the whole way and cut themselves off from the body of Christ instead of dividing it with false teaching." Sound doctrine always unite. Bad doctrine always divides. As we read last week in verses 13-15:

"For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' But if you bite and devour one another watch out that you are not consumed by one another."

And now verse 16: "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh." To "walk" in something is a Hebrew figure of speech for how one lives their life. So another way to say this would be, "Live by the Spirit." We see multiple comparisons to walking in the faith throughout the New Testament:

• Ephesians 2:10, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
• Colossians 2:6, "Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him."
• 1 Thessalonians 4:1, "Brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more."
• 1 John 1:7, "But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

In the first half of Galatians 5, which we looked at last week, we read about how we are set free in Christ. We are set free from the bonds of sin and death. We are released from the burden of the Law. Therefore, we should not submit ourselves again to a yoke of slavery. We should also not use our freedom as a license to sin. Consider verse 13 again: "For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another." In other words, you've been cleansed of your sins not so you can go get dirty again, lest you would be living for yourself. You've been washed so that you might live into God, to love sacrificially as Christ has loved you.

It is a very common pattern among professing American Christians to live life one way on Sunday, and then to live life a completely different way during the rest of the week. When I was in high school, we used to make fun of our friends and even some of our teachers who were Catholic. They lived like the devil during the week and then went to mass on the weekend to get pardoned by the priest. It would be several years later before I realized I was living my life the same way, just with no priest and fewer smells and bells.

The Bible calls this hypocrisy—calling yourself a follower of Jesus but living like you're a follower of Satan. Saying you're a citizen of the kingdom of God, but behaving like you are perishing with the rest of this fallen world. You haven't been saved from your sins. You're still dying to do them. If there's no difference with the way you live your life and the way your unbelieving friends live, examine yourself to see if you're truly in the faith.

Some people will excuse sinful living—whether it's their own sins or the sins of a loved one they don't want to believe is headed for hell. They will say this is an opportunity for God to show more grace. They might quote Romans 5:20, which says, "Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more!" Or Romans 6:14 which says, "You are not under the law but under grace!" But neither of these passages are a license to sin. "Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more," means that you were once dead in your sins and your trespasses, but by the grace of God you have been made alive in Christ Jesus. "You are not under the law but under grace!" means that you will not be judged by the law you previously have broken, but you will live under the grace of God which we have in Christ Jesus.

Romans 6:1-4 says, "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life."

Verses 15-18 say, "What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness."

The Spirit says we are to "walk in newness of life" and "obedience leads to righteousness." We come back again to this understanding of what it means to walk by the Spirit, and walking by the Spirit means obedience. Obedience to what? What are we supposed to obey? The Law of God. But wait, didn't we just read that we are not under the law, but under grace? That does not mean the Law no longer applies to us. Quite the contrary! It means the Law has been applied to us! Here is what I mean by that.

In Jeremiah 31 beginning in verse 31, God talks a new covenant. "Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke… For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people."

These words exactly are repeated again in Hebrews 8:8-12 showing that they have been fulfilled in the people of God, His church, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Revelation 21:3 says, "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God." This people God will put His law within us, and write it on our hearts. This is the work of the Holy Spirit of God within us. This is walking by the Spirit—walking according to the commandments of God.

In his commentary on Galatians, Ronald Fung, professor of biblical studies at China Graduate School of Theology, said the following: "The guidance of the Spirit can be experienced as a reality in the life of the believer, a sign that Jeremiah's prophetic word about the new covenant has been fulfilled. In Old Testament times, the Israelites knew God's law as an external code, but in the New Testament dispensation, the law of God is set in His people's understanding and written on their hearts. God's will is now an inward principle, the result of the leading of the Spirit within the believer."

Consider also these words from the Lord in Ezekiel 36 starting in verse 25: "I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you [a soft heart]. And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules."

Same thing that was said in Jeremiah under the promise of a new covenant: "I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules." The Law of God has been written on our hearts through the Spirit of God that is within us. In this way, the Law has been applied to us. It hasn't been abolished. That should be very clear considering we just read in Galatians 5:14, "The whole law is fulfilled in one word: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" Do you believe you are to love your neighbor? Then you believe the Law of God still applies.

Now, let me make this emphatically clear once again—salvation is not by the Law. "Honor your father and your mother," will not save you. "Thou shalt not murder," will not save you. "Thou shalt not commit adultery, steal, bear false witness, or covet," will not save you. You are saved by grace through faith in Christ alone. We read in Galatians 3:10 that everyone who relies on works of the law is under a curse, and in verse 13, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us." So do not think I am talking out of both sides of my head—saying in one instance that you are justified by faith and in another instance that you are justified by the law.

Romans 3:20 says, "For by works of the law no human being will be justified in His sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin." It is through the hearing of the Law of God that you became aware that you had sinned against God. But now having called upon the name of Christ and received His forgiveness, He has written His commandments upon your heart, and your love for Him is expressed in your obedience. As Jesus said in John 14:15 and 21, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments… Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, He it is who loves me." Those who love God will keep His commandments, not because they save you, but because He has saved you.

Romans 8:3-4, "God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit."

In Matthew 5:17, Jesus said, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them." Romans 13:8-10 says, "Love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,' and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law."

Jesus came to fulfill the Law, and now as His follower with he Holy Spirit of God in your heart, you fulfill the Law when you love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. Matthew 22:40, "On these two commandments depend all the Law and the prophets."

In his book How Does God's Law Apply to Me? R.C. Sproul wrote the following: "Has anything changed about God that we would disregard His directives? Is His word still law? Is He still as sovereign as He was in the Old Testament? Is the God of Israel and of the New Testament church a commandment-giving God? His word is law, and His law is His word, because His law expresses His will. And that will, that law, is sweeter than honey (Psalm 119:103)."

Note that Dr. Sproul said, "His law expresses His will." When it comes to obeying the directive to "Love God, Love People," we are not free to interpret that as, "Love God in whatever way you are comfortable worshiping, and love people the way the culture says love is supposed to look like." We are to love God the way He says He is to be worshiped, and we are to love others the way Jesus said for us to love.

In keeping the word of God, we walk by the Spirit. But Galatians 5:16 says more than just "walk by the Spirit." It says, "Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do."

We will flesh this out (pun) a little bit more when we contrast the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit. They are opposite sides of a divided highway. You cannot be on one side headed in one direction and be in the other lane headed in the other direction at the same time. If you walk by the Spirit, you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Your orientation must be in the direction of God. If you are facing God, the world is behind you. If you are facing the world, you turn your back on God.

I read to you earlier from Romans 8:3-4. Let me pick up that passage again in verse 5: "For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God."

Note there that those who are in the flesh cannot submit to God's law. Continuing in verse 9: "You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you."

Imagine that! The same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead is the exact same power that you have within you. This power has strengthened you, raised you up, brought your dead spirit back to life. You have been raised from death to life by the Holy Spirit of God. If that is the power you have dwelling within you, don't you think you have the power to resist the temptations of the flesh?

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that everyone here should be living in perfection, and if you aren't perfect, then you're not a Christian—that's not what I'm saying. But don't hear me saying, "Christians still sin" as an excuse to excuse your sin. Jesus said, "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect," and God has said in both the Old and New Testaments, "Be holy as I am holy." What this means is that you should be growing in holiness. You are not falling back into sin or old patterns. You are growing in newness of life.

Now, though the Scripture does use the word "growing" to describe our progress toward holiness, we might hear that word and tend to take a very passive approach to our spiritual maturity, thinking that it will just happen as naturally as the grass grows. I know that would certainly be the case for me. I can very easily and complacently sit back and think that spiritual growth will just happen. But my friends, resisting temptation, growing in righteousness, being a pillar and buttress of the truth, taking every thought captive and making it to obey Christ, breaking down strongholds and everything that is raised up against the knowledge of God, fleeing from Satan and drawing near to God—this is spiritual warfare. It's less compared to watering your lawn and more comparable to taking up arms.

You know the instruction to put on the full armor of God, right? What does the Scripture say? Ephesians 6:10, "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."

Kim Riddlebarger of Fuller Theological Seminary says the following: "The sinful nature is not eradicated at the moment of regeneration, but the sinful nature is cut off from its source of life. It will slowly but surely whither and die. But though a defeated foe, it will nevertheless fight a determined guerrilla war until we die or until Christ comes back, whichever comes first."

We are fighting a spiritual war daily, and this battle is walking with the Spirit. Consider it your marching orders. This isn't like a brisk walk through the Flint Hills National Wildlife Refuge. It's a wild frontline battle. While an unbeliever is comfortable with their sin, Christians regularly struggle with indwelling sin. But do not be discouraged or intimidated by this image of spiritual war. For we have been promised in Scripture that the battle belongs to the Lord. Victory is not in your ability to resist temptation or be holy, remember. Victory is in Jesus.

We are reminded in 1 Corinthians 15, "Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain."

If we are abounding in the work of the Lord, we are walking by the Spirit. We are not gratifying the desires of the flesh. Returning once again to Galatians 5:17, "For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do."

Now what does this mean, "to keep you from doing the things you want to do"? If you're going after the desires of your flesh, you might want to do what is pleasing to God. You might say you love God and you want to do all that is according to His will. But you won't do it. Your desire is to satisfy your fleshly appetites, not take up your cross and follow Christ. You would rather have sexual immorality rather than purity, divisions with other people rather than reconciliation, anger rather than love, intoxication rather than being filled with the Spirit, the idols you've raised up rather than Christ. So you might want to please God, but your heart wants what your flesh wants, and it keeps you from doing the things you want to do. As Jesus told His disciples, "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."

Now let's turn it around the other way. If you're walking by the Spirit and doing the things of God, you won't do what your flesh would want you to do. The very idea of it disgusts you. Sin is gross to the believer that truly desires holiness. You don't even like to think about it. Some people love the memories of past sins. They might remember something sinful they did and savor it, like sucking on a tic-tack. But not the person who walks by the Spirit. They want to think of their sin as God thinks of sin. It makes them sick.

So instead of sexual immorality, which is any sexual pleasure outside of the marriage covenant, you want to submit your body unto the Lord as a living sacrifice. You hate the idea of holding a grudge against anyone, especially a brother or sister in the Lord. You desire to be reconciled. You are not easily angered but rather self-controlled. You are patient affliction. You do not keep a record of wrongs but forgive others. You are faithful to the Lord because you know He has been far more faithful to you. Whatever the flesh wants, you don't do it, because the Spirit of God compels you toward Christ. Galatians 5:18, "If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law."

And in case you haven't picked up on it, I've already taken the liberty of contrasting the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit: "Now the works of the flesh are evident," Paul says. That means, we who have the Spirit of God know what the works of the flesh are. If the Law of God has been written on our hearts, and our desire is to please our Savior, we hate the very garment that is stained by sin, and we will want nothing to do with these works:

"Sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."

This is not just a matter of saying, "Hey, don't do gross things." These works of the flesh are condemnable. A person who lives their life in such a way will be destroyed in judgment. Notice that the first one, two, three, possibly four works all have to do with sexual immorality, as well as the last one before Paul says, "and things like these." Meaning, there are more sins that could go on the list, but this list is still quantifiable.

Sexual sins are the surest manifestation of someone who is selfishly gratifying the desires the flesh. Consider that the month of June has been designated "Pride Month." Everyone understands why, right? It was on June 26, 2015 that the U.S. Supreme Court declared in a 5-4 decision that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed for same-sex couples. Therefore, June is "Pride Month." It's very interesting that in their perversity, the LGBTQRSTUV movement was so willing to confess how truly prideful they are.

And that is what sexual sins are—they are nothing but prideful self-seeking, with no regard to anyone but the appeasement of the flesh. In 1 Corinthians 6:18-19, we read, "Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body."

As for these other works of the flesh, "idolatry" is desiring anything above God. In Colossians 3:5, Paul says covetousness is idolatry. Sorcery would not only include witchcraft, fortune telling, or communicating with the dead, it would also include taking drugs that alter the mind. The Greek word is pharmakeia, from which we get the word "pharmacy."

Enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, all seem pretty self-explanatory. Now, I've taken the liberty of going with the New American Standard translation of Galatians 5:21, inserting the word "carousing" in place of the word that the ESV uses. Those of you who have the ESV Bible, you know which word I'm talking about. I've done that for the sake of young ears in the congregation.

So we contrast the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit. Now notice that it's "fruit" of the Spirit, singular, not "fruits" of the Spirit. We have nine things listed here, but it's described as singular fruit. You don't get to pick and choose which of these you want to be good at: "Oh, I think I'll try a little love and joy. I like those things. I think I'll leave the patience to someone else. Self-control isn't really my thing." You can't do that. These are the gifts of the Spirit, this is the fruit of the Spirit. The person who is walking in the Spirit, also known as a Christian, must exhibit all of the fruit of the Spirit, not just some of them.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love," love the way that God defines love, sacrificial love, putting others needs ahead of your own. "Joy," which is not dependent upon mood or circumstances. You rejoice in the Lord always. "Peace," a peace that surpasses all comprehension, according to Philippians 4:7. It is peace with God, the forgiveness of sins. And that peace will manifest itself in showing peace toward others—not causing or dwelling in division, but letting the peace of Christ rule in your heart.

"Patience." It's the first descriptor of love in 1 Corinthians 13:4. "Love is patient." We're not quick to fly off the handle with one another. We're not demanding responses right now. We're patient. "Kindness." That seems pretty self-explanatory. Not quarreling with one another. Not calling each other names. Not looking down on one another, or thinking more highly of yourself than you out to think. Instead you show no partiality and associate with the lowly. "Goodness." You take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness. You abhor what is evil and hold fast to what is good, what God says is good.

"Faithfulness." Faithfulness to Christ, faithfulness to His word, faithfulness to one another. You are steadfast an unmoving in your faith. You persevere under trial. You're still going to be a Christian 10 years from now, only more mature than you are now. "Gentleness," similar to kindness. You're compassionate toward others. Considerate. Kindness is more active and gentleness more passive, perhaps. Kindness, you are looking for ways to compliment and encourage others. Gentleness is the way you respond to others or your circumstances.

"Self-control," means that you are able to resist temptation. You do not give in to the passions of your flesh. You are not easily seized or taken in by wild ideas or conspiracies. You have a sound mind. You are temperate. And Paul ends this list of the fruit of the Spirit by saying, "Against such things there is no law." Another way of saying this is something that was said earlier: "Love is the fulfilling of the Law."

Verse 24, "And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." This is like something Paul said earlier in Galatians 2:20. "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

Verses 25 and 26: "If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another." We are completely content in Christ our Savior, sufficient for our every need. We're not trying to add something to Christ in order to attain satisfaction or salvation. You are saved by grace through faith. And that is enough.